Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is a TV series that aired from 1995 to 2001. A camp historical fantasy about a warrior woman and her companion/sidekick, with significant lesbian subtext, most particularly in the Xena-Gabrielle relationship.
The series was notable in many ways, not least of which was that Xena started her series life as a villainess, a murderous conqueror intent on killing and destruction, exacting terrible revenge for the murder of her brother, Lyceus, by the army of another warlord, Cortese. In a series of interactions, including one in which she is severely beaten and cast out by the army she commanded for preventing a child from being murdered, Xena is convinced by the good Hercules to renounce her evil ways and fight the good fight for truth, justice, and the Ancient Greek way. Xena's ferocity was thus revealed as a tragic reaction to her own abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, as evidenced by her instinctive protection of the child even though this act of mercy resulted in terrible consequences for herself.
But the spin-off quickly eclipsed its parent because it drew in a new audience, women.
The series became much more complex as it dealt with issues of warfare versus pacifism, whether fighting for "the good" can lead to evil results, the power of love, and a strong subtext of a lesbian relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, her putative sidekick.
In many ways, Xena: Warrior Princess was an action/adventure soap opera, with sudden betrayals and plot reversals a staple element of the storyline, and with a few parallel universes thrown in when even the loose conventions of soap opera proved too restrictive. The show's producers essentially placed modern storylines and values in a quasi-ancient setting, allowing for colorful costuming and fighting. On this framework they wove in numerous wink-wink references to pop culture (even Xena fandom). As a significantly referential work, Xena: Warrior Princess deliberately drew from and referenced numerous other cultural works and mythologies, and even some actual history. For instance, fight choreography was often taken from Hong Kong action films; historical incidents were freely shuffled and remixed, or retold from alternative perspectives; and cinematography, dialog, episode titles, and plots played homages to numerous genres and individual filmic works. In this sense, it drew popularity from the same vein as "The Simpsons".
But beyond the fun campy setting and the sly cultural references, what drew audiences to Xena: Warrior Princess was the fundamentally honest characterization of its two principals, Xena and Gabrielle. Each had her own character arc, and they were woven together in an honestly drawn story of a true and loving relationship. The character arcs themselves were honest and realistic; the campy historical fantasy framework can be seen as the form for the relationship content. In this sense, X:WP did what precious few TV stories have done: created an in-depth story about two women. The form made it possible for such a thing to be created, but its wildly enthusiastic fanbase is what demonstrated that the show met a real need for representations of female relationships.
Characters
Episodes and themes
- Significant female-centered episodes and characters on Xena
- Themes and motifs on Xena
- List of Xena episodes
Further reading
- Whoosh! When Popular Culture is Not Enough... An online scholarly journal dedicated to all things Xena.
- The Australian Xena Information Page A good source of information about Xena, Lucy Lawless, and Xena fandom.
- XenaWikiPedia
- Encyclopedia Xenaica (offline)
- AusXip